BIARRITZ, France — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not expected to meet with a top Iranian official who dropped in to the G7 summit unannounced Sunday, even as other Group of Seven leaders and officials have been sitting down to talk about how to save Iran’s fissuring nuclear deal.

France’s invitation to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif led to sidebar meetings with French, German and U.K. officials in Biarritz Sunday — an attempt by French President Emmanuel Macron to broker an ease in growing tensions, notably in the Strait of Hormuz, where a dispute between the U.K. and Iran has been unfolding.

Canada has been supportive of restoring the Iran nuclear deal, but is not a central character in the negotiations now playing out on the margins of the G7 summit, said a senior Canadian official who provided comments on background.

Trudeau met face-to-face with U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday on the margins of the G7 summit in France and discussed the new North American trade deal and China’s detention of the two Canadians, according to a report on the meeting sent by Trudeau’s office

The mood between leaders at the annual get-together has repeatedly been described as tense, with a clear divide reported between Trump and the leaders of the other G7 countries — France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Trump has disputed any accounts of tension. He offered a small gesture of friendship to Canada Sunday, congratulating Trudeau on the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Championships back in June, according to the statement from Trudeau’s office.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during their bilateral meeting at the Bellevue centre in Biarritz, south-west France on August 25, 2019, on the second day of the annual G7 Summit.Nicholas Kamm /
AFP/Getty Images

Prior to their meeting, the two men had sat for a photo and in brief remarks focused on their shared commitment to seeing the new North American trade deal enacted.

“There’s a lot of people wanting to make trade deals with each other and we have a deal that we were able to negotiate that is good for our workers, our citizens, good for the middle class,” Trudeau said.

So far only Mexico’s government has officially signed off on the accord.

But Trump insisted the deal he has dubbed the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement, or USMCA, has broad support in the United States and he is optimistic it will get the seal of approval from Congress.

Trump has tried to downplay concerns the meetings of the Group of Seven leaders are strained, saying in a tweet that the leaders are all “getting along very well,” and taking issue with some media reports indicating otherwise.

Trudeau did participate in some tense discussions about Iran during a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders Saturday evening at the foot of the Biarritz lighthouse.

One point of contention appears to be Iran: French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders agreed during Saturday’s dinner that France could serve as a G7 messenger to Iran. Trump denied agreeing to anything, and Macron was forced to play down his role and acknowledge Trump’s status as “the president of the world’s number one power.”

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif then showed up unannounced and headed straight to the building where leaders of the world’s major democracies have been debating how to handle the country’s nuclear ambitions.

Meetings between him and the U.S. are not expected.

The leaders of the world’s seven richest democracies, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, attend a G7 working session on “International Economy and Trade, and International Security Agenda” in France.Philippe Wojazer /
Reuters

Trudeau discussed the Iran deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a bilateral meeting he held with her Sunday, where they agreed on the importance of the deal and the need for de-escalation, according to a readout of the meeting provided by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Speaking to reporters before their meeting, Merkel said Canada and Germany have an excellent friendship, something that is much appreciated “in a world that is in turmoil,” she said, as translated by an interpreter.

“(In) a world where there are so many conflicts, there’s a lot of common ground between our two countries, a lot of areas we see eye to eye.”

The surprise arrival of the Iranian official to Biarritz threw a monkey wrench into efforts by Trump and Trudeau to keep the focus of the summit on trade and global economic issues.

A Canadian official said Trudeau stressed his support for free and fair trade and for efforts to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO).

During the photo-op with Trump and Trudeau, the U.S. president shared a harsh assessment of the WTO, saying he believes it is even worse than NAFTA, which he again said was the “worst trade agreement ever done.”

Trump had been trying to use the summit to rally the other leaders to do more to stimulate their economies, as fears rise of a potential slowdown in the U.S.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, attend a working session on ‘G7 Partnership with Africa’ in Biarritz, south-west France on August 25, 2019, on the second day of the annual G7 Summit.PHILIPPE WOJAZER / POOL / AFP

His summit counterparts are trying to convince him to back off the trade conflicts with China and other countries, seeing the disputes as contributing to the overall economic weakening.

On Saturday, European Council President Donald Tusk set the stage early Saturday urging the group to find common ground, especially on issues of security and trade, warning that trade wars “will lead to recession” — one day after a Twitter tirade against China by the U.S. president that sent investors running for cover.

The spectre of Donald Trump’s scorched-earth style loomed large as Tusk acknowledged the mounting tension among G7 nations in recent years as they seek common ground at a time when greater co-operation was never more important.

“This may be the last moment to restore our political community,” Tusk told a news conference in the seaside resort of Biarritz, France, where the leaders of the seven leading world economies have gathered for several days of meetings and talks.

“Trade wars will lead to recession, while trade deals will boost the economy — not to mention the fact that trade wars among G7 members will lead to eroding the already weakened trust among us.”

It was only Friday when Trump angrily upped the ante in his trade fight with China, promising to increase planned tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods from 10 to 15 per cent in response to Beijing’s decision to raise taxes on $75-billion worth of U.S. imports. He also “hereby ordered” American companies to find alternatives to doing business there.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk arrive for a family picture with G7 leaders and guests, on the second day of the annual G7 summit in Biarritz, south-west France on August 25, 2019.Ludovic Marin / AFP

“I have no choice. We’re not going to lose close to a trillion dollars a year to China,” he later said on a day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 673 points lower. “Tariffs are working out very well for us. People don’t understand that yet.”

It’s in spite of that superheated atmosphere that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hoping to build consensus on the virtues of free trade and strengthen Canada’s trade ties with its G7 partners.

Trudeau met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for discussions that focused on how Canada’s existing trade deal with the European Union would function in a post-Brexit Britain. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Johnson took over as prime minister of the United Kingdom in July.

Trudeau also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where they highlighted strong Japanese-Canadian ties forged from the successful launch of the rebooted Trans-Pacific Partnership late last year, as well as a chance to talk security issues amid rising tensions between Tokyo and South Korea.

Trudeau has been building allies among G7 and other world leaders, in part to show a united front to China after it detained Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in a move widely regarded as retaliation for the Canadian arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou late last year under an extradition agreement from American authorities.

During his meeting with Abe, Trudeau seemed particularly pleased to hear Abe mention he and Trudeau share a “strategic partnership,” which includes a “shared vision of a free, open Indo-Pacific” — a nod at efforts by Canada and some G7 leaders to try to broker support for freer flow of goods and services amid Trump’s nationalist approach.

The Canadian prime minister was keen to showcase his alliances among G7 leaders ahead of the official beginning of the summit’s program on Saturday, highlighting at every turn his support for open trade and the relationships he has built or is building as G7 countries brace for how the ever-unpredictable Trump could disrupt discussions.

Upon greeting Trudeau on Saturday evening, Macron grasped Trudeau’s arm several times in a mark of friendship and even held his hand for a few moments twice during their brief interaction.

The two leaders do not yet have an official bilateral meeting scheduled, but Canada’s ambassador to France, Isabelle Hudon, said Saturday the two share a “chemistry” and she is convinced they will speak privately on the margins of the summit.

Despite warm smiles and handshakes for photo-ops Saturday, Macron has played down any expectations of a unified front from the leaders — a legacy of last year’s acrimonious ending to the gathering in Quebec.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron speak during a bilateral meeting in Biarritz, France, August 26, 2019, on the third day of the annual G7 Summit.Ludovic Marin/Pool

Instead of a final communique to wrap the summit, Macron is aiming to publish outcome documents for following agreements reached between individual countries on different issues, including free trade, gender equity and the environment — an attempt to avoid the fate of the 2018 summit in Charlevoix, Que., when Trump lashed out at Trudeau from the confines of Air Force One and scratched his name from the communique.

A final communique is not the most important thing for the G7 summit, Hudon argued. Getting the world’s Group of Seven leaders together to speak candidly about issues of joint interest — even if building consensus has become elusive, is more important, Hudon said.

“There’s a shift in what the G7 is becoming. That being said, that’s not a reason to stop the conversations.”

Tusk said the summit “will be a difficult test of unity and solidarity of the free world and its leaders” but urged G7 leaders to find unity not only on trade, but also on climate action, defending the rule of law and human rights and combating the threat of nuclear proliferation — rather than focusing on “senseless disputes among each other.”

The annual G7 summit has historically been used to highlight common ground among the world’s leading democracies. But in a bid to work around Trump’s impulsiveness, Macron — who is hosting the leaders — has decided to break from tradition and not issue a formal joint statement at its conclusion.

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